Weathering resistance of polymeric materials

ABSTRACT

A polymeric material containing a halogen-containing polymer such as PVC, an inorganic hydroxide and, an acrylic material is described. The presence of the inorganic hydroxide provides a material of superior weathering resistance as compared to materials comprising halogen-containing polymers which do not contain hydroxide.

This invention relates to polymeric materials having improved weatheringresistance. Particularly, although not exclusively, the inventionrelates to polymeric materials which include a halogen-containingpolymer and, especially, to polymeric materials which include both ahalogen-containing polymer and an acrylic polymer.

Halogen-containing polymers, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) arerelatively cheap and readily available materials. They have been usedoutdoors in buildings and glazing. However, the weatherability, forexample the light stability of halogen-containing polymers is poor,leading to relatively short lifetimes particularly in pigmentedformulations.

Acrylic materials are used in a variety of applications, for examplebuildings, including glazing, automotive lights, instrument dials, lightdiffusers, lenses, medical diagnostic devices, signs, bath/sanitaryware, because of their toughness, weatherability, appearance andstability characteristics. They may be used as capstock material toprovide a coating layer over a substrate thermoplastic material andhence impart the advantageous properties of acrylic compounds to theunderlying thermoplastic material. One example of the use of acrylicmaterials as capstocks is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,737 in whichsuitable acrylic compositions for coextrusion withacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) are described for a variety ofend-uses.

In many application areas the retention of beneficial propertiesfollowing exposure to sunlight etc is important. Acrylic materialsthemselves generally have exceptional weathering performance and whenformulated correctly can be used to impart these properties tounderlying plastics materials. Blends of PVC and acrylic materials maybe attractive in some situations. For example, compared to unmodifiedacrylics, acrylics modified by addition of PVC may be cheaper, haveincreased toughness, exhibit reduced flammability and have desireablemelt-flow properties. However, whilst the weathering performance of anacrylic/PVC blend is generally improved compared to the PVC alone, theaddition of PVC to acrylics reduces the weathering performance comparedto unmodified acrylics. Thus, an acrylics/PVC blend may exhibitunacceptable colour stability, degradation in appearance and mechanicalproperties following exposure to sunlight or in weathering tests. Infact, unmodified pigmented acrylic/PVC blends behave similarly to PVCitself in that they begin to lighten (“chalk”) after several thousandshours accelerated weathering exposure in both xeno and QUV A machines.The “chalking” phenomenon is well known to those skilled in the art ofPVC material formulation and generally manifests itself as a lighteningin material colour, which is measured as a positive “ΔL” in weatheringtesting. For unmodified pigmented acrylic/PVC blends the time that this“chalking” occurs is dependent upon the amount of PVC present in theblend, but even at concentrations of <20% w/w PVC a noticeable colourshift (ΔE) occurs after 6000 hours exposure.

It is an object of the present invention to address the above-describedproblems.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided apolymeric material comprising a halogen-containing polymer whichcontains between 5 to 70% by wt of halogen and 0.1 to 25% by wt of aninorganic hydroxide of zinc, magnesium, molybdenum, antimony, aluminium,tin, copper, manganese, cobalt or iron.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a method ofmanufacturing a polymeric material which comprises a halogen-containingpolymer which contains between 5 to 70% by wt of halogen and 0.1 to 25%by wt of an inorganic hydroxide of zinc, magnesium, molybdenum,antimony, aluminium, tin, copper, manganese, cobalt or iron, the methodcomprising melt blending, preferably by extrusion, preferably between150° C. to 250° C., said halogen-containing polymer and said inorganichydroxide.

According to a third aspect, there is provided the use of an inorganichydroxide of zinc, magnesium, molybdenum, antimony, aluminium, tincopper, manganese, cobalt or iron in a polymeric material comprising ahalogen-containing polymer which contains between 5 to 70% by wt ofhalogen for improving the weathering resistance of saidhalogen-containing polymer, especially their colour stability.

The halogen-containing polymer is preferably a chlorine-containingpolymer. The only halogen in said polymer is preferably chlorine. Saidpolymer may be a polyvinylchloride, polyvinyldichloride, polyvinylidenechloride, chlorinated PVC or chlorinated polyolefin. Said polymer ispreferably chosen from a polymer or copolymer of vinyl chloride orvinylidene chloride. A particularly preferred halogen-containing polymeris polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The halogen containing polymer may containother materials, as known to those skilled in the art, for examplepigments, fillers, impact modifiers, lubricants, UV stabilisers, thermalstabilisers and viscosity modifiers. Said halogen containing polymersuitably includes at least 75% by wt of polymer, preferably at least 80%by wt, more preferably at least 90% by wt, especially at least 95% by wtof polymer. Said halogen containing polymer may consist essentially ofpolymer, especially PVC.

Suitably, the halogen containing polymer, preferably in the absence ofany fillers or other ingredients (e.g. thermal stabilisers or viscositymodifiers), includes at least 10% by wt, preferably at least 20% by wt,more preferably at least 30% by wt, especially at least 40% by wt andmost preferably at least 45% by wt of halogen, especially chlorine. Thehalogen containing polymer, preferably in the absence of saidaforementioned ingredients, preferably includes less than 70% by wt,preferably less than 60% by wt, especially less than 57% by wt halogen,especially chlorine. Preferably, said halogen containing polymerincludes no halogen other than chlorine.

Said polymeric material may include at least 0.5% by wt, suitably atleast 0.75% by wt, preferably at least 1% by wt, especially at least 2%by wt, of said inorganic hydroxide. Said polymeric material may include20% by wt or less, suitably 15% by wt or less, preferably 10% by wt orless of said inorganic hydroxide.

Said inorganic hydroxide may be selected from aluminium hydroxide, zinchydroxide, iron hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide and tin hydroxide. Saidinorganic hydroxide could be antimony hydroxide. Preferably saidinorganic hydroxide is selected from magnesium hydroxide, antimonyhydroxide, zinc hydroxide and aluminium hydroxide and, of the aforesaid,magnesium hydroxide, antimony hydroxide and zinc hydroxide arepreferred. Preferably, said inorganic hydroxide comprises magnesiumhydroxide. Preferably, said inorganic hydroxide does not include amaterial which comprises or consists of aluminium hydroxide. Saidinorganic hydroxide may include more than one inorganic hydroxide.However, said inorganic hydroxide preferably consists essentially ofmagnesium hydroxide.

The weight average particle diameter of particles of said inorganiccomposition is suitably less than 250 μm, preferably less than 100 μm,more preferably less than 50 μm, especially less than 10 μm, suitably sothat the material can have a high surface gloss. In some cases, thediameter may be smaller, for example less than 0.1 μm or below. In thiscase, the particles may be sufficiently small so that they do notscatter light when incorporated into the acrylic material and,accordingly, clear acrylic materials may be made.

Said polymeric material may include an acrylic polymer. Said acrylicpolymer may comprise a homopolymer or a copolymer (which term includespolymers that have more than two different repeat units) of analkyl(alk)acrylate or a copolymer comprising acrylonitrile, especially acopolymer which includes styrene and acrylonitrile, optionally incombination with other material (especially polymeric material).

Where said acrylic polymer is an alkyl(alk)acrylate, it is preferably ahomo or copolymer of at least one C₁-C₆ alkyl (C₀-C₁₀alk)acrylate and ismore preferably a copolymer made by polymerising a monomer mixturecomprising 50-99% wt of an alkyl methacrylate and 1-50% wt of an alkylacrylate. The alkyl methacrylate is preferably a C₁-C₄ alkylmethacrylate, for example methyl methacrylate. The alkyl acrylate ispreferably a C₁-C₄ alkyl acrylate, for example methyl, ethyl or butylacrylate. The molecular weight (M_(W)) of the alkyl(alk)acrylate ispreferably at least 20,000 and, more preferably, is at least 50,000. Themolecular weight may be 500,000 or less, preferably 200,000 or less,more preferably 150,000 or less.

Where said acrylic polymer is a copolymer comprising acrylonitrile, itmay be an acrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA) polymer,acrylonitrile-EPDM-styrene polymer (AES), styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN)polymer, olefin-styrene-acrylonitrile (OSA) polymer oracrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer, with ASA, AES and SANbeing preferred.

Suitable copolymers comprising acrylonitrile include at least 15% by wt,more preferably at least 20% by wt, more preferably at least 25% by wt,especially at least 30% by wt of acrylonitrile; and less than 50% by wt,preferably less than 40% by wt, more preferably less than 35% by wt ofacrylonitrile.

Suitable copolymers of acrylonitrile include at least 40% by wt,preferably at least 50% by wt, more preferably at least 55% by wt,especially at least 60% by wt styrene; and less than 80% by wt,preferably less than 70% by wt, more preferably less than 65% by wt, ofstyrene.

Where said polymer comprising acrylonitrile comprises a copolymercomprising acrylonitrile and styrene together with another material,said material may be selected from an olefin, acrylic or EPDM. Theamount of the latter mentioned components may be in the range 0 to 20%by wt, preferably 0 to 15% by wt, especially 0 to 10% by wt.

The polymeric material (especially one comprising an acrylic polymercomprising an alkyl(alk)acrylate) may additionally comprise between 0-60wt %, preferably 20-60 wt % of a rubbery copolymer. By a rubberycopolymer, we mean materials which have a glass transition temperaturewhich is less than room temperature, preferably less than 0° C., e.g.less than −20° C. We also include block copolymers which include arubbery, low T_(g) block, often with harder, higher T_(g) blocks. Suchmaterials are well known for use as toughening agents for improving theimpact resistance of acrylic materials. Suitable rubbery copolymersinclude copolymers of acrylates, methylacrylates, styrene, acrylonitrileand/or olefins (especially butadiene). Examples of suitable materialsinclude styrene—butadiene rubbers, styrene-olefin copolymers,methacrylate-butadiene-styrene (MBS) terpolymers, styrene-acrylonitrilecopolymers and core-shell type particles based on methyl methylacrylateand alkyl acrylate copolymers, e.g. butyl acrylate and styrene.Preferred types of rubbery copolymer are core-shell particles such asare well-known in the art and described in e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,737.

Said polymeric material preferably includes 0.1 to 99.8% by wt of saidhalogen-containing polymer. Said polymeric material may include at least2% by wt, suitably at least 5% by wt, preferably at least 10% by wt,more preferably at least 25% by wt, especially at least 30% by wt ofsaid halogen-containing polymer. Said polymeric material may include 80%by wt or less, suitably 70% by wt or less, preferably 60% by wt or less,especially 50% by wt or less of said halogen-containing polymer.

Said polymeric material preferably includes 0.1 to 99.8% by wt of saidacrylic polymer. Said polymeric material may include at least 5% by wt,suitably at least 10% by wt, preferably at least 24.9% by wt, morepreferably at least 40% by wt, especially at least 60% by wt of saidacrylic polymer. Said polymeric material may include 94.9% by wt orless, suitably 90% by wt or less, preferably 80% by wt or less, morepreferably 70% by wt or less of said acrylic polymer.

The ratio of the weight of halogen-containing polymer to acrylic polymerin said polymeric material may be at least 0.3, especially at least 0.4.The ratio may be less than 2, preferably less than 1.5, especially lessthan 1.1. Where the acrylic polymer is ASA and the halogen-containingpolymer is PVC, the ratio may be about 1. Where the polymer is analkyl(alk)acrylate and the halogen-containing polymer is PVC, the ratiomay be in the range 0.35 to 0.6, especially 0.4 to 0.5.

Preferably, the halogen containing polymer is compatible with theacrylic polymer in such a way that it can be melt blended to form thepolymeric material without undue difficulty.

Other additives such as UV stabilisers, colorants, lubricants etc. thatare commonly found in acrylic materials may be present in the polymericmaterial. The polymeric material may additionally contain one or moreinorganic materials selected from oxides, carbonates, borates,stearates, chlorides or bromides of zinc, magnesium, molybdenum,antimony, aluminium, tin, copper, manganese, cobalt or iron. Thepolymeric material may include between 0.5 and 15% by wt of at least oneof the aforesaid inorganic materials, preferably 0.5 -5%.

Said polymeric material suitably includes less than 1 wt %, preferablyless than 0.5 wt %, more preferably less than 0.1 wt %, especiallysubstantially no hydrotalcite. Said polymeric material suitably includesless than 1 wt %, preferably less than 0.5 wt %, more preferably lessthan 0.1 wt %, especially substantially no basiccalcium-aluminium-hydroxy carboxylates. Said polymeric material suitablyincludes less than 1 wt %, preferably less than 0.5 wt %, morepreferably less than 0.1 wt %, especially substantially no polyolsand/or hydroxyl group-containing isocyanurate.

In a preferred embodiment, the acrylic polymer is melt blended with theinorganic hydroxide at a temperature between 150 to 230° C., morepreferably 180 to 220° C. prior to melt blending with the halogencontaining polymer. More preferably all of the ingredients are meltblended together between 150 to 230° C., more preferably 160 to 200° C.and particularly 170 to 195° C.

The polymeric material may be made in the form of sheets, film, powdersor granules. It may be extruded or moulded into various shapes orcoextruded or laminated onto other materials, for example rigid orfoamed forms of ABS, PVC, polystyrene polymers including HIPS and othermodified styrene polymers, or polyolefins. The material may also becoextruded or laminated onto metals. Material as described in the formof sheets (e.g. coextruded or laminated sheets) may be thermoformed orotherwise formed into a desired shape by a suitable means.

The invention extends to a polymeric material comprising:

a) 0.1 -99.8% by wt of an acrylic polymer;

b) 0.1 -99.8% by wt of a halogen containing polymer which containsbetween 5 to 70% by wt of halogen;

c) 0.1 to 25% by wt of an inorganic hydroxide of zinc, magnesium,molybdenum, antimony, aluminium, tin, copper, manganese, cobalt or iron.

The invention extends to a method of manufacturing a polymeric materialwhich comprises:

a) 0.1 -99.8% by wt of an acrylic polymer;

b) 0.1 -99.8% by wt of a halogen containing polymer which containsbetween 5 to 70% by wt of halogen;

c) 0.1 to 25% by wt of an inorganic hydroxide of zinc, magnesium,molybdenum, antimony, aluminium, tin, copper, manganese, cobalt or iron;

which process comprises melt blending, by extrusion, between 150 to 250°C., said acrylic polymer, said halogen containing polymer and saidinorganic hydroxide.

The invention extends to the use of an inorganic hydroxide of zinc,magnesium, molybdenum, antimony, aluminium, tin, copper, manganese,cobalt or iron, in a polymeric material which includes ahalogen-containing polymer, for improving the weathering resistance ofthe halogen-containing polymer.

A polymeric material as described herein may be supplied in the form ofpellets. The pellets may then be thermally processed for any downstreamapplication. Alternatively where a polymeric material includes anacrylic polymer, a solid form (e.g. pellets) comprising said acrylicpolymer and said inorganic hydroxide may be supplied for subsequentmixing with a said halogen-containing polymer Thus, the inventionextends to a solid form comprising said acrylic polymer and saidinorganic hydroxide, wherein the “% by wt” expressed herein for saidacrylic polymer and said inorganic hydroxide represent “parts by weight”in said solid form.

The invention extends to a weather-resistant component comprising anacrylic material according to said first aspect or manufactured in amethod according to the second aspect.

Said component may be a coextruded or laminated component which includessaid acrylic material.

Said component may be for use in construction.

Said component may be for use in construction of a building. Forexample, it could be a solid or coextruded building component, forexample a soffit board, barge board, fascia board, cladding board,siding, gutter, pipe, shutters, window casement, window board, windowprofile, conservatory profile, door panels, door casement, roofingpanel, architectural accessory or the like.

Said component may be for use in constructing a vehicle or in anotherautomotive application, both as a bulk material or as a coextrudedlaminate. Such applications include, but are not limited to, decorativeexterior trim, cab moldings, bumpers (fenders), louvers, rear panels,accessories for buses, trucks, vans, campers, farm vehicles and masstransit vehicles, side and quarter panel trim or the like.

Said component may be used in applications both indoors or outdoors, forexample bathtubs, spas, shower stalls, counters, bathroom fixtures,toilet seats, kitchen housewares, sinks, refrigerator liners or bodies,fencing, trash cans, garden furniture or the like.

The invention further extends to a weather-resistant component for anoutdoor application comprising a polymeric material according to saidfirst aspect or manufactured in a method according to the second aspect

Outdoor applications include the aforementioned building components andinclude signage, for example for petrol stations (or the like).

The invention further extends to a weather-resistant extrusioncomprising a polymeric material according to said first aspect ormanufactured in a method according to the second aspect.

The invention extends to the use of a component made of a polymericmaterial according to the first aspect or manufactured in a methodaccording to the second aspect in construction and/or in outdoorapplications.

The invention extends to a building comprising a component made out ofan acrylic material according to the first aspect or manufactured in amethod according to the second aspect.

The invention extends to a component which includes a substrate and acapstock material wherein at least one of either the substrate or thecapstock material is an acrylic material according to the first aspector manufactured in a method according to the second aspect.

Any feature of any aspect of any invention or embodiment describedherein may be combined with any feature of any aspect of any otherinvention or embodiment described herein.

The invention will be further described with reference to the followingExamples.

EXAMPLE 1

A commercial grade of an impact-modified acrylic moulding copolymercomprising polymethylmethacrylate-co-ethyl acrylate was melt blendedwith the required amount of uPVC (supplied by EVC Compounds) andmagnesium hydroxide of average particle size 5 μm (supplied by Britmag)as shown in the Table 1. 0.5% w/w UV stabiliser (TINUVIN P fromCiba-Geigy) and 8% w/w colour masterbatch (a 50% pigment dispersion inacrylic) was added to each sample. A Clextral 30 vented twin-screwextruder (general purpose screws, 300 rpm, 190° C.) was used to compoundthe materials. The materials were coextruded onto foamed uPVC at athickness of 100 microns.

The samples were tested for weathering performance in acceleratedweathering tests using QUV A lamps in a Q-Panel machine following ASTMG53 and xeno arc lamp in a Hereaus 150S machine following ISO 4892. Theresults after 6000 hours exposure are shown in the Table 1.

The addition of the magnesium hydroxide to acrylic/PVC blends has givena very marked improvement of colour stability under acceleratedweathering. The 30% w/w PVC in acrylic blend without Mg(OH)₂ shows acolour shift (characterised by the ΔE value) exceeding 4 units after6000 hours xeno and 6000 hours QUV A exposure. It also became lightenedand “chalky”. In contrast, in those samples to which magnesium hydroxidehas been added, the ΔE values are much less after the same exposure timewhich indicates a much better retention of colour following acceleratedweathering.

TABLE 1 Composition Acrylic copolymer Mg(OH)₂ Xeno 150 S (wt %) uPVC (wt%) (wt %) QUV A ΔE ΔE 70 30 — 5.8 4.5 65 30 5 1 0.6 60 30 10 0.6 0.4

EXAMPLE 2

A composition comprising 54.5% by weight of a standard acrylic mouldingpolymer (Diakon™ MG102 available from Ineos Acrylics), 40% by weightunplasticised PVC, 1% Mg(OH)₂, 2% zinc stannate and 2% zinc boratetogether with 0.5% UV stabiliser (Tinuvin P from Ciba-Geigy) and 0.2% ofa thermal stabiliser (Irganox 1076 from Ciba-Geigy) was melt blended asdescribed in Example 1. The weathering properties were measured,together with those of a sample made from colour-matched unmodifieduPVC. The results are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Modified MG102 uPVC Time (hours) QUV A ΔE QUV A ΔE 1000 0.6 3.02000 1.5 3.8 3000 0.2 3.8 4000 0.2 3.7 5000 0.3 3.7 6000 0.7 3.1

EXAMPLE 3

A composition comprising 36.5% by weight of a commercially availableimpact modified acrylic moulding compound comprisingpolymethylmethacrylate-co-ethyl acrylate, 50% by weight unplasticisedPVC (available from EVC), 8% colour masterbatch (a 50% pigmentdispersion in acrylic) and 5% Mg(OH)₂ together with 0.5% UV stabiliser(Tinuvin P from Ciba-Geigy) was melt blended using a Clextral 30 ventedtwin-screw extruder (general purpose screws, 300 rpm, 190° C.). Thepellets thus obtained were injection moulded to form a plaque ofnominally 4 mm thickness.

EXAMPLE 4

A composition comprising 11.5% by weight of a commercially availableacrylic moulding compound comprising polymethylmethacrylate-co-ethylacrylate, 75% by weight unplasticised PVC (available from EVC), 8%colour masterbatch (a 50% pigment dispersion in acrylic) and 5% Mg(OH)₂together with 0.5% UV stabiliser (Tinuvin P from Ciba-Geigy) was meltblended and moulded as described in Example 3.

EXAMPLE 5

A composition comprising 86.5% by weight unplasticised PVC (availablefrom EVC), 8% colour masterbatch (a 50% pigment dispersion in acrylic)and 5% Mg(OH)₂ together with 0.5% UV stabiliser (Tinuvin P fromCiba-Geigy) was melt blended and moulded as described in Example 3.

EXAMPLE 6

A colour-matched sample of pigmented uPVC and the materials described inexamples 3 to 5 were tested for weathering performance using QUV A lampsin a Q-Panel machine following ASTM G53. The results are shown in theTable 3.

TABLE 3 QUV A Δ E Material 250 h 500 h 1000 h Example 3 0.4 0.4 0.4Example 4 0.4 0.4 0.8 Example 5 0.7 0.7 1.1 Pigmented uPVC 1.4 3.0 5.3

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which arefiled concurrently with or previous to this specification in connectionwith this application and which are open to public inspection with thisspecification, and the contents of all such papers and documents areincorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including anyaccompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps ofany method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination,except combinations where at least some of such features and/or stepsare mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanyingclaims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative featuresserving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly statedotherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each featuredisclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent orsimilar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoingembodiment(s). The invention extend to any novel one, or any novelcombination, of the features disclosed in this specification (includingany accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, orany novel combination, of the steps of any method or process sodisclosed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A polymeric material comprising: (a) an acrylicpolymer selected from the group consisting of a homopolymer of an alkyl(alk)acrylate, a copolymer made by polymerising a monomer mixturecomprising 50 to 99% by wt of an alkyl methacrylate and 1 to 50% by wtof an alkyl acrylate, or a copolymer including at least 15% by weight ofacrylonitrile; (b) a halogen containing polymer which contains between 5to 70% by wt of halogen; (c) 0.1 to 25% by wt of an inorganic hydroxideselected from magnesium hydroxide, antimony hydroxide and zinc hydroxideor mixtures thereof.
 2. A polymeric material according to claim 1wherein the inorganic hydroxide comprises magnesium hydroxide.
 3. Apolymeric material according to claim 1 wherein the acrylic polymer ispresent in amount of 0.1 to 99.8% by wt of the polymeric material.
 4. Apolymeric material according to claim 1 wherein the halogen-containingpolymer is present in an amount of 0.1 to 99.8% by wt of the polymericmaterial.
 5. A polymeric material according to any claim 1 wherein theacrylic polymer comprises a homopolymer of a C₁-C₆ alkyl (C₀-C₁₀alk)acrylate.
 6. A polymeric material according to claim 1 wherein theacrylic polymer comprises a copolymer made by polymerising a monomermixture comprising 50 to 99% by wt of an alkyl methacrylate and 1 to 50%by wt of an alkyl acrylate, wherein said alkyl methacrylate is a C₁-C₄alkyl methacrylate.
 7. A polymeric material according to claim 1 whereinthe acrylic polymer comprises a copolymer made by polymerising a monomermixture comprising 50 to 99% by wt of an alkyl methacrylate and 1 to 50%by wt of an alkyl acrylate, wherein said alkyl acrylate is a C₁-C₄ alkylacrylate.
 8. A polymeric material according to claim 1 wherein theacrylic polymer comprises a copolymer including at least 15% by weightof acrylonitrile and said copolymer is selected fromacrylic-styrene-acrylonitrile (ASA) polymer, acrylonitrile-EPDM-styrene(AES) polymer, styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) polymer,olefin-styrene-acrylonitrile (OSA) polymer oracrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer.
 9. A polymeric materialaccording to claim 1 wherein the ratio of the weight ofhalogen-containing polymer to acrylic polymer in said polymeric materialis at least 0.3.
 10. A polymeric material according to claim 1 whereinsaid halogen-containing polymer is selected from a polymer or copolymerof vinylchloride or vinylidene chloride.
 11. A polymeric materialaccording to claim 1 wherein said halogen containing polymer includes atleast 10% by wt of halogen.
 12. A polymeric material according to claim1 wherein said halogen-containing polymer includes no halogen other thanchlorine.
 13. A polymeric material according to claim 1 wherein saidpolymeric material includes at least 0.5% by wt of said inorganichydroxide.
 14. A polymeric material according to claim 1 wherein saidpolymeric material includes 20% by wt or less of said inorganichydroxide.
 15. A polymeric material according to claim 1 wherein thepolymeric material additionally comprises 20 to 60 wt % of a rubberycopolymer.
 16. A polymeric material as claimed in claim 1 wherein thepolymeric material is in the form of sheets, films, powders or granules.17. An article of manufacture which is a weather resistant componentcomprising the polymeric material as defined in claim
 1. 18. An articleof manufacture which is a weather resistant component as claimed inclaim 17 wherein said component is a solid or coextruded buildingcomponent.
 19. A building comprising a component made out of a polymericmaterial as defined in claim
 1. 20. A component which includes asubstrate and a capstock material wherein at least one or either thesubstrate of the capstock material is a polymeric material as defined inclaim
 1. 21. An article of manufacture comprising the polymeric materialas defined in claim
 1. 22. A polymeric material comprising: (a) anacrylic polymer present in an amount of 0.1 to 99.8% by wt based on thetotal weight of the polymeric material, wherein the acrylic polymer isselected from the group consisting of a homopolymer of a C₁-C₆ alkyl(C₀-C₁₀ alk)acrylate, or a copolymer made by polymerising a monomermixture comprising 50 to 99% by weight of an alkyl methacrylate and 1 to50% by weight of an alkyl acrylate; (b) a halogen containing polymerpresent in an amount of 0.1 to 99.8% by wt based on the total weight ofthe polymeric material, wherein the halogen containing polymer containsbetween 5 to 70% by wt of halogen; and (c) an inorganic hydroxidepresent in an amount of 0.1 to 25% by wt based on the total weight ofthe polymeric material, wherein the inorganic hydroxide comprisesmagnesium hydroxide.
 23. A polymeric material as claimed in claim 22wherein the acrylic polymer comprises said copolymer made bycopolymerising a monomer mixture comprising 50 to 99% by weight of analkyl methacrylate and 1 to 50% by weight of an alkyl acrylate, whereinsaid alkyl methacrylate is a C₁-C₄ alkyl methacrylate.
 24. A polymericmaterial as claimed in claim 22 wherein the acrylic polymer comprisessaid copolymer made by polymerising a monomer mixture comprising 50 to99% by weight of an alkyl methacrylate and 1 to 50% by weight of analkyl acrylate, wherein said alkyl acrylate is a C₁-C₄ alkyl acrylate.25. A polymeric material as claimed in claim 22 wherein said halogencontaining polymer is selected from a polymer or copolymer of vinylchloride or vinylidene chloride.
 26. A polymeric material as claimed inclaim 22 wherein said polymeric material additionally comprises 20 to 60wt % of a rubbery copolymer.
 27. A polymeric material as claimed inclaim 22 wherein the polymeric material is in the form of sheets, films,powders or granules.
 28. An article of manufacture which is a weatherresistant component comprising the polymeric material as defined inclaim
 22. 29. An article of manufacture which is a weather resistantcomponent as claimed in claim 28 wherein said component is a solid orcoextruded building component.
 30. A building comprising a componentmade out of a polymeric material as defined in claim
 22. 31. A componentwhich includes a substrate and a capstock material wherein at least oneor either the substrate of the capstock material is a polymeric materialas defined in claim
 22. 32. An article of manufacture comprising thepolymeric material as defined in claim
 22. 33. A method of manufacturinga polymeric material as defined in claim 1, the method comprisingmelt-blending the acrylic polymer, the halogen-containing polymer andthe inorganic hydroxide together at a temperature between 150° C. and230° C.
 34. A method as claimed in claim 33 wherein the acrylic polymeris melt-blended with the inorganic hydroxide prior to melt-blending withthe halogen-containing polymer.
 35. A polymeric material as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the inorganic hydroxide consists essentially ofmagnesium hydroxide.
 36. A polymeric material as claimed in claim 22wherein the inorganic hydroxide consists essentially of magnesiumhydroxide.